“I contemplated if I was in love with the pills and white powder he seemed to always have or if I loved him. Any loyalty I had eventually shifted to the drugs.”
‘My mug shot was on the news. ‘I’ve been using drugs and I’m in trouble. I don’t want to live.’ The nurse said, ‘You’re in the right place.’: Woman overcomes addiction, ‘I help people like me’
‘Will they make it on their own?’ The universal mom ache comes every time we say goodbye.’: Mom says ‘with each goodbye comes a sacred hello’
“Their first steps onto the school bus, that very first sleepover. As she backs out of the driveway with her newfound freedom, memories of a toddler in her car seat and seemingly endless pickups fade. ‘Will they make it on their own?’ The ache is fresh and raw.”
‘If you send me home, I will die.’ The doctor looked me in the eyes. ‘We’re all going to die.’: Mental illness, chronic pain warrior finds peace through therapy, ‘I accept myself as I am’
“I’ve been in a car wreck I shouldn’t have walked away from. I’ve attempted suicide 3 times. I’ve come close to death often. ‘Why do I exist?’ Now I knew exactly why I’m here.”
‘My best friend said, ‘You’re too depressing to be around. All you talk about is your pain and sickness. You need to hold it all in, or I won’t be your friend anymore.’: Woman written off by society finds ‘unconditional love’ in chronic illness community
“For 8 years, I couldn’t get the medicine I needed because doctors suggested I was complaining about nothing. They dismissed me with, ‘It’s all in your head.’ I became an expert at denying my own pain. I resigned from my job. Being sick was not something people wanted to hear about.”
‘Why’s there no daddy in our home?’ I couldn’t speak the truth. I never expected the question so early.’: Single mom discusses divorce with children, ‘They should make their own decisions’
“It wasn’t an easy topic to explain to a little girl. I never expected I’d need to prepare an answer so soon. But I want her to grow up so she’ll find out the truth.”
‘When my mother passed away, someone started drama. We were gossiped about and given a cold shoulder when all we needed was a hug.’: Woman urges ‘unsubscribe from their mess’
“There will ALWAYS be people in your life who will make your pain about them. Their hearts are so backward, they will not only be mad when you’re on the mountaintop, but they’ll be jealous of the attention you’re getting in the valley.”
‘My dad is the town crackhead. He cried when he met my son for the first time. Every year for my birthday, he gets me a present.’: Daughter to addict urges ‘he was someone before drugs’
“Next time you see an addict on the street and you think they’re just a junkie or piece of garbage, please remember that’s someone’s family, someone’s dad, someone son, someone’s sibling, and they were someone before drugs or alcohol took them over. My dad may be an addict, but he never stops trying.”
‘Black women are resilient because we have to be, not because we are stronger than you.’: Woman urges ‘our pain is real, physical and emotional’
“The Strong Black woman stereotype implies we are strong, which should be a good thing, but it often isn’t so.”
‘Call your work, Dan’s work, Dan’s best friend, and then give me your phone.’ I felt guilty for falling asleep, for not being strong enough to give him CPR.’: Widow credits ‘tribe’ for healing through grief
“Living in the thick of the fire, my tribe was there to hold my hand as I walked through. I found myself sitting on a doctor’s couch the following Tuesday, sobbing tears of grief and agony. They helped me make sense of the madness and encouraged me to feel again.”
‘Starved for love, I made disastrous decisions. Eventually, I turned to food. I weighed in at 391 pounds, my body just as unhealthy as my soul.’: Survivor details battle with demons, ‘I am a beautiful disaster’
“Frozen in fear, you lay in your bed with that twisted knot in your stomach. There is always the question: who protected the little girl with the big, brown eyes? The answer? A resounding no one. I was a little girl.”
